


Over and Over

by carpebagel



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking, Drunk Eren, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpebagel/pseuds/carpebagel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi met Eren at a karaoke bar. Things progressed from there.</p><p>(Or - Eren somehow managed to give Levi his number and it came in handy a couple of times.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Over and Over

**Author's Note:**

> 1/15/14 - edited for pronouns :)))

How Levi ended up alone at a karaoke bar on a Thursday night was beyond him.

Well, no it wasn’t. He knew exactly how he got there. His stupid bespectacled friend promised him that they’d show up and pay for all the drinks he wanted, but neglected to tell him when their plans changed. Instead of meeting him at the karaoke bar like they promised, they texted him an hour after their meeting time and told him that something had come up at the lab, and they couldn’t neglect their work for a round of drinks on a _weekday_.

That in and of itself was enough to make Levi miffed.

But when a young man, probably in his early twenties, approached Levi and started to _grind_ on him without saying so much as word to his face, spilling over his drink in the process, then – then, he was pissed.

“What the fuck?” Levi asked through gritted teeth. The man didn’t seem to hear him. “I said, what the _fuck?”_

The brown-haired man turned around quickly. His eyes widened momentarily before he broke out into a grin. “Hi!”

Levi blinked. “You were grinding on me.”

“Yeah, I was,” the man laughed. It’s only then that Levi realized that there was a certain glint in this guy’s eyes – he definitely wasn’t sober.

“Why?”

“When I see someone who’s cute, and also standing alone, I’m like – I gotta go talk to them, or dance with them, or something! So that’s what I did.”

“As flattering as you might think that to be, you’re sweating all over me and I’d like you to get away from me.”

“Wow, grumpy, okay,” he said, laughing, “that’s cool though. I admire your resistance. Not enough to get me to stop, but I admire it nonetheless. My name is Eren Yeager.”

Levi hesitated. He could walk away from this conversation and this man – Eren – would be too drunk to stop him. But something compelled him to stay. “Levi,” he offered.

“Nice to meet you!”

“Wish I could say the same.”

And that’s how it started. Eren somehow convinced him to sing a tear-jerking rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” and they ended the night by punching each other’s numbers into their phones.

In all honestly, Levi thought it would end there. But of course, that’d be too easy.

Three days later Levi found himself with a flat tire in the middle of the city. As Levi searched through his contacts, he came to the realization that in Eren’s drunken stupor he had not only managed to give Levi his number (“Call me for a good time, okay? Ah – shit, haha, that makes me sound like a stripper. I meant like a card game or something! Unless you wanna do something else.”) but also told him the details of his workplace.

And as luck would have it, the Maria Café was about a block away from where Levi’s car got its flat.

With a grimace, Levi called Eren’s cell phone. A lot was riding on this conversation – Eren would have to be working to be of any use to Levi, and he’d have to be able to take a break right when he called.

After three rings, he picked up. “Hello?” Eren said.

“Hey, this is Levi.”

“Ah, calling so soon? I thought you’d at least wait a couple of _days_ before calling me. Am I that irresistible?” There was a pause. “Don’t answer that.”

“I’m gonna go ahead and ignore everything you just said. Yeager – “

“Eren, but proceed.”

“ – I have a flat tire and I’m about a block away from Maria Café. Can you help me out?”

“Yeah, but not right now. We’re in a bit of a rush. You’re lucky I could even answer this call!”

“When, then?” Levi asked irritably.

“Well, it’ll probably be another 30 minutes before the rush clears out. You might want to come into the café and wait for me there. It’d probably be better than standing around a looking like a loser. Ah, just kidding – you do that anywhere.”

“Very funny.”

“Careful, I’m helping you after all.”

“That’s true. I’ll be there in five.” And with that, Levi ended the call and walked quickly to the coffee shop.

“Welcome to Maria Café, what would you like?” Eren asked, head turned profile before meeting Levi’s gaze. It caught him off guard. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Don’t sound so excited,” Levi deadpanned.

Eren laughed. “What would you like?”

“Black tea if you have it. Black coffee if you don’t.”

“Black tea it is, then. I’ll be on break in about twenty minutes so you should have plenty of time to finish.”

Levi nodded. Two minutes later, Eren delivered his tea with a smile and got back to work. As Levi sipped the beverage, he kept his eyes trained on Eren’s every movement. For someone who acted like such a little shit, Levi could tell he wasn’t really one. The way he interacted with the customers and the focus in his eyes when preparing drinks… it was almost admirable, really, how much work Eren put into his job.

Levi’s lips twitched upwards slightly. He took a sip from his tea to quell his thoughts and continued to observe.

Fifteen minutes later, Eren approached Levi’s table with a jacket over his apron and a smile on his face. “Let’s do this,” he said, and Levi led the way.

As it turned out, Eren was pretty good at changing tires. Levi certainly hadn’t expected that, he was anticipating having Eren hold the crank while he did most of the work. It was a pleasant surprise, though. A lot was surprising about Eren, apparently.

 

 

As it turned out, Maria Café was right on the way to Levi’s workplace. He started to drop in before heading to work. It was a nice way to start the day, admittedly. He got his favorite tea and bantered with his favorite barista (ew, did he really think that?) for a couple of minutes before getting in his car again.

His routine was so expected by the Café staff that eventually they had his tea ready and waiting for him, with Eren sitting at a table nearby. The time saved from ordering allowed the two of them to chat for a couple of minutes about work or school or karaoke bars, from time to time.

Their friendship was interesting, if nothing else. Why Levi willingly started to hang out with someone twelve years younger than him was a mystery. Well, it wasn’t, really – Levi enjoyed Eren’s company. It was a simple as that.

“Y’know, I think you’re the only person in the world who still has an undercut.”

Levi almost choked on his tea.

“What?”

“An undercut. Your hairstyle. I’m pretty sure it went out a style a decade ago, maybe.”

“Shut up, Eren.”

“I’m just saying. I admire your resistance to changing times. You remind me a lot of an old man, sometimes.”

“Eren I swear to god – “

“What? It’s a compliment!” Eren laughed as he scratched the back of his neck. “Ever heard of those before? Probably not, actually.”

“I’m leaving.” Levi moved to sit up, but Eren’s hand on his wrist stopped him in his tracks.

“I was just kidding. Not about the compliment part, but everything else.”

Levi huffed in amusement. It was easy to get this kid agitated, and his reaction was almost – _almost_ – enough to get Levi to smile.

 

 

Several days later, Levi received a call in the wee hours of Monday morning.

“Eren, you better have the best fucking excuse, I swear to god I’m going to kill – “ Levi didn’t even get to finish. He was cut off by outrageous laughter on the other end of the line, and that was almost enough to get him to hang up immediately.

“Hey, Levi! Good morning! I called to ask you if you could you pick me up, maybe?”

“Eren, you little shit.”

“C’mon, Levi! I did you a really big favor so I think you owe me.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Maybe?”

“Who the hell gets drunk on a Sunday night?”

“Well, you’re talking to one of ‘em. I felt like I needed a break, y’know – maybe you should try it sometime.”

There’s silence for what seemed like a very long time. Levi could hang up the phone if he wanted to. He could easily hang up and go to sleep and pretend this was all a dream. But then what would happen to Eren? Why did he need a ride this late in the night, anyway?

Levi sighed. He’s too nice, really. “Where are you?”

Thirty minutes later, Levi pulled up to a random bar in the middle of the city and saw Eren slumped up against its wall. He honked his horn, and Eren stood up immediately with the biggest smile on his face. “Levi, you came!” he shouted as he ran towards the car.

Levi was going to regret this. For the first five minutes of the car ride, there was relative peace. Eren played with his hands and occasionally tried to do something really stupid, like open the car door in the middle of the highway. That made Levi yell.

“Haha, okay, Levi, I made this joke about you and I think you’ll like it. Do you wanna hear it?” Eren leaned in closely, closing his eyes halfway through the sentence. He doesn’t wait for a response. “You need to take a really, really long shit because you have the world’s largest stick up your ass!”

Eren howled with laughter, slapping his thigh and Levi’s and swinging his head in between his knees. He clutched his sides as he gasped for air, tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

While all of this was going on, Levi clenched the wheel as he gave the smallest, most reluctant smile.

“It’s funny – oh god – it’s funny because you don’t show emotion. Apathy! Apathy at all times!” Eren laughed, pounding his fists on the window.

“Do you want me to pull over, Yeager? I can’t drive with all this distraction,” Levi said. He wanted to sound annoyed, irritated, but he didn’t. He wasn’t. Of all the ways to spend a Monday night, this wasn't half bad.

(Not that he’d admit it.)

“No, no, I’m fine,” Eren said, wiping a tear from his eyes. There was a pause, and silence hung heavily between them for a moment. Not five seconds went by before Eren erupted again, and Levi took that as his cue to pull over.

He waited for Eren to stop laughing. It took him two minutes, probably, before he got the last of it out of him. He ended up grinning stupidly at Levi, staring at him for a solid ten seconds. “I only told that joke to get you to laugh,” he said, “did it work?”

“Yeah, it did,” Levi said quietly.

“Really? Wow!” Eren exclaimed.

Levi didn’t respond.

“Y’know, Levi, remember that time we first met? How I called you cute?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you still are. Even if you do need to take a really long shit.” And with that, Eren leaned in. He placed his hand on Levi’s cheek as his thumbs stroked his skin. Eren’s breath was hot against Levi’s lips, and his eyes were barely open. Levi could feel the heat radiating off of Eren’s cheek as he closed the gap between them with his lips.

They stay like that for a while. Levi could taste the alcohol on Eren’s lips, and that triggered something inside him. This wasn’t right. Eren was drunk off his ass and Levi was supposed to be driving him home. This man – kid – was barely old enough to drink and  Levi was trying to make out with him. And the worst part about all of this was that he didn’t mind. He kind of wanted to.

Levi pulled away. “We have to stop,” he said. He placed his hand on the wheel and started the car.

“Why?” Eren asked. He sounded sad, heartbroken, even, intensified by his drunken state.

“You’re drunk and I’m thirty-three.”

“That’s alright, Levi,” Eren said as he kissed Levi’s cheek. Levi started to drive.

“If you want to do that again, you have to do it when you’re sober.”

“Fine. I will.” Levi caught Eren’s eyes very briefly before looking back to the road. That was the most determined he’d ever seen him.

 

 

The next morning, Levi walked into Maria Café with a smirk on his face. He couldn’t wait to see how hungover that little brat was from last night. He’d been coherent, but that was as put-together as he was. Levi hit a speed bump and that alone was enough to send Eren into yet another uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Not to mention, Eren tried to come on to Levi. He preferred not to think about that even if the kiss they shared was among the best he’s had in several years. He could only imagine how good it’d be if they were both sober.

Levi shook the thought from his mind as he approached his usual table, surprised to find that Eren was not their waiting for him. In his place, he saw a small note.

_Had to take off work this morning. I think you know why. Want to meet up later?_

Levi stifled a small laugh at that. Skipping work because of a hangover… he expected nothing else. Levi took out his phone and texted a quick “yeah, sure,” to Eren because it’s not like he had anything better to do. And, he kind of wanted to see him. Eren had wedged his way into Levi’s life somehow and not seeing him was throwing Levi off.

Eren’s response came within seconds. _awesome, do you wanna come to my house?_

Levi sent an affirmation and was restless for the rest of the day, knowing that as soon as he got off work he’d be able to see Eren again.

As five o’clock approached, Levi could feel the anticipation washing over him. He wasn’t anxious because he was seeing Eren, but because he was seeing Eren in his _home_. Inviting someone to their home was different because there was a sort of intimacy, closeness, that came with it.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. A strange mix between disgusted and incredibly happy. Not bad but not entirely good, either.

It took two knocks for Eren to open the door. His hair was messy as ever, perhaps even more so because he had probably spent the day in bed. “Hey,” he said, voice breathy.

Levi muttered a greeting in return and walked into his apartment.

It was cozy. Levi could give it that much. But, as with many city apartments, the living quarters were tiny. There was barely enough room for a dinner table, much less a two-person couch and a TV. But somehow, Eren managed to get it all to fit. It wasn’t as dirty as Levi expected it to be, either. For someone as scatterbrained as Eren he’d expected small mountains of shit in the corners.

It was more than just cozy. It was nice.

“Do you want anything to drink? Coffee or tea, maybe? Alcoholic bever – “

Levi shot him a look.

“What? It was a joke. I’m not gonna spike anything, not after last night at least,” Eren said, awkwardly chuckling. Last night. Right. When Eren kissed him.

Levi coughed.

“I know you probably want tea, but I’m really good at making coffee. You’ve never had anything but tea from the Café, so you wouldn’t know. Do you object?”

“Do as you may,” Levi said as he sat down on the couch.

“Alright then,” Eren said. He worked slowly – not at all how he worked when working at Maria Café. Levi could see the concentration in his eyes, muttering some curse words as he made mistakes. After about five minutes, Eren presented Levi with his coffee. “We don’t have all the fancy stuff they have back at the Café, but I made do. This is my favorite drink. It’s a chai tea latte with some stuff added to it.”

“Stuff?” Levi asked, eyeing the drink.

“Don’t worry, it’s all good. Drink it,” Eren said, gesturing towards the cup.

Levi nodded and grabbed the cup, raising it to his lips. He could smell the spices as he took a sip, letting warmth ride of him. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he saw Eren staring at him expectantly.

“So…?” Eren asked, leaning in.

“It’s good,” Levi said.

“Yes!” Eren exclaimed, making a motion to punch the air. “Finally, approval from Levi!”

Levi huffed as he took another sip of the coffee. “You don’t need approval from me.”

“I don’t?”

“Well, no,” Levi said. “I’m just one guy. What does it matter if I think your drink is good?”

There was a pause. “You matter to me,” Eren said quietly. “So of course your opinion makes a difference in my book.”

Levi stopped mid sip, arm halfway raised with his cup in his hand. “Oh,” he said quietly, lowering his arm, “okay.”

“Yeah,” Eren whispered. He pursed his lips. “I dunno how I’m supposed to make this seem smooth like they do in the movies, but last night you told me I could only kiss you again if I was sober. And I am. So I’m just gonna – “

He was cut off by Levi’s lips crashing onto his. “Do you want this?” Levi asked between kisses.

“Yes,” Eren mumbled into his mouth, “do you?”

Instead of responding, Levi pulled away from him. Eren’s eyes were wide, perhaps surprised, but he didn’t have time to ask any questions before Levi kissed him square on the mouth.

That was the end of that.

 

 

How Levi ended up at a karaoke bar on a Sunday night was beyond him.

Well, not it wasn’t. He knew exactly how he got there. For their two month anniversary, Eren decided it would be cute to take them to the spot where they first met. They grinded on each other, and it was entirely mutual. They kissed and they danced and they even sang “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” It was cheesy and stupidly sentimental, but Levi wouldn’t want to spend a Sunday night any other way. 

**Author's Note:**

> I was like let's write a drabble it'll be short and sweet and somehow it got away from me... Fic title from "Over & Over" by Smallpools
> 
> if you spot any mistakes please tell me thankzzzz
> 
> Follow me on tumblr for shenanigans @ gay-heichou


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